1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to vehicles such as railway hopper cars and in particular to bottom door mechanisms for discharging material from such vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art discloses a variety of bottom door mechanisms for hopper cars. However, the prior art is generally characterized by one or more deficiences such as failure to provide positive locking of the doors, being excessively complex and expensive to fabricate, being difficult to maintain and repair, and being susceptable to inadvertant opening due to the load on the door during rail operations.